Florida Panthers vs. N.Y. Islanders Prediction, Preview, and Odds

The Florida Panthers and New York Islanders are playing each other at 7:35 pm EST on Thursday. The Panthers won the Presidents' Trophy last season. They were knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by Tampa Bay. New Zealand Islanders fell short of making the postseason last year.

Matthew Tkachuk is the newest Panther. Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar and a 2025 first-round pick were traded for him. The Panthers scored 340 goals last season. Anthony Duclair is injured and not expected to return for some time.

Josh Mahura is happy to have arrived in Florida.

Islanders finished over .500 last season, but they were 16 points away from the closest playoff slot. They scored the ninth fewest goals in the NHL last year. Mathew Barzal needs to score more. Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov and Ilya Sorokin are the team's top defensemen. Scott Mayfield should be ready to go after an illness. Oliver Whalstrom should also be back skating with the club. Cal Clutterbuck is on injured reserve, he can be activated on opening day.

Mat Barzal loves it here. Florida Panthers and New York Islanders meet in a game on Sunday.

The Panthers won the regular season title last season. Ilya Sorokin and Sergei Bobrovsky are the top goalkeepers in the NHL. Florida is the only team in NHL with less than 20 losses last year.

Both teams are strong on the back end with Bobrovs. Both teams allowed under 250 goals last season. Panthers outscored Islanders by 109 goals. The under is 9-3-2 in the last 15 meetings between the clubs.